Carlton Tri-series: England edge past India to enter the final

England batsmen James Taylor and Jos Buttler score fighting half-centuries to steer England to victory over India at Perth in the sixth ODI today; England meet Australia in the final on Sunday

Perth: India were on Friday knocked out of the tri-series cricket tournament after yet another spineless display as England recovered from a top-order collapse to record a three-wicket victory and secure a place in the final here.

In a do-or-die game, India's batsmen let the team down badly as they frittered away a good start to be bundled out for 200 in 48.1 overs, losing as many as nine wickets for 97 runs from a relatively comfortable 103 for one.

England were tottering at 66 for five at one stage but staged a gritty fightback through James Taylor (82) and Jos Buttler (67) as their stand steered the team home with 19 balls to spare at the WACA ground. England will now take on Australia in the final on Sunday.

Ajinkya Rahane's (L) wicket celebrated by Steven Finn. Pic/ AFP

It was yet another disappointing show by the Indians, who have now failed to win a single international match during their ongoing tour of Australia.

The tournament, which served as a dress rehearsal for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup, has shown that there are lot of chinks in defending champions' armoury as they lost three out of the four matches while one was abandoned.

While it a mixture of variable bounce and poor application which resulted in India's batting downfall, it was Ajinkya Rahane, who some what proved to be a saving grace with a patient knock of 73 as his teammates did not show the stomach for a fight.

On the otherhand, it was diminutive Taylor alongwith the flashy wicketkeeper batsman Buttler, who showed a lot of resolve despite losing the top five as their 125-run partnership guided Eoin Morgan's team home.

Taylor hit only four boundaries in his 122 ball innings but played the role of a sheet anchor to perfection. Buttlerhad seven fours in 77 balls to his credit.

While Stuart Binny (3/33) is slowly making a case for himself in the starting XI with three top-order wickets, India's bowling line-up is yet to bear a settled look and inspire confidence as they are set to begin the Cup defence inhardly two weeks' time.

Earlier, another dismal batting performance by India saw them being bowled out for 200 in 48.1 overs by England in a deciding clash of the ODI tri-series at the WACA here Friday.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane was the standout performer, scoring 73 off 101 balls. His and Shikhar Dhawan's opening wicket partnership of 83 runs was the only bright spot in an otherwise dreadful performance.

Pacer Mohammed Shami (25) played a vital cameo in the end, adding 35 runs for the final wicket with Mohit Sharma (7 not out), to provide some respectability to India's total.

Following the dismissal of Dhawan in the 21st over, India lost eight wickets for just 62 runs.

All the English bowlers were amongst the wickets with Steven Finn taking three wickets while Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali chipping in with two each.

England had bowled out India for 153 in their previous and went on to win by nine wickets.

Earlier, England captain Eoin Morgan put India into toss after winning the toss and India looked shaky from the outset.

Rahane and Dhawan were slow off the blocks, playing with the lot of caution. They gained confidence after negotiating the initial overs.

Rahane was the more aggressive of the two and lived a charmed life with most of his lofted shots, in the begginning, landing in no-man's land.

Virat Kohli's (8) wicket in the 28th over, opened the floodgates for England. Suresh Raina (1) perished just two overs later as India were reduced to 107 for three.

Ambati Rayudu (12) looked good briefly but failed to capitalise on his start. Rahane's wicket soon after put tremendous pressure on the shoulders of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni (17), who failed to cope with it and was dismissed with the score on 164.

Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja (5) and Axar Patel (1) fell in the space of a run as India was reduced to 165 for nine.

A few edges and some lusty blows from the bat of Shami helped India reach the 200-mark.

The winner of the match will go on to face hosts Australia in the final.